PARKOUR!: Q&A with Tempest Freerunning Academy

As the summer heats up, #teamXOMAD hope you are staying cool, and finding ways to show off or shape up your fitness routine. We sat down with professional athlete and stuntwoman, Sydney Olson from Tempest Freerunning Academy to see what it takes to stay fit enough to be a real-life Batwoman.

What do you love most about summer?

My favorite thing about summer is the BBQ get-togethers, longer days, and people are generally just more happy during that time!

What’s the most challenging part of your fitness routine?

For me, the conditioning that I have to do tends to be challenging. Freerunning is so much fun and I could play for hours and wouldn’t notice. But the smaller exercises that are totally necessary tend to get annoying for me. So I constantly have to switch it up and give myself little challenges; i.e. 5 muscle ups in a row, how much weight can I use for 10 squats, etc.

I don’t really have to ever gain or lose weight, so I mostly focus on maintaining the healthiest diet possible. I love finding healthier options to things that could totally be fattening. I often blend up frozen bananas for an “ice cream” consistency and then add melted coconut oil, cacao powder, and agave as the topping. It’s like a sundae and satisfies my sweet tooth.

How do you keep your routines dynamic?

I keep my routines dynamic by constantly switching it up. The awesome thing about freerunning is that there is so much to work on, especially if you want to be well-rounded. So one day I might work on the gnarliest flips I can think of and the next might be connecting smaller and more technical movements.

Do you have a favorite athletic apparel brand? What makes them your favorite?

My favorite apparel is the Tempest Freerunning brand. I love it because all the clothes are so conducive to my lifestyle as well as my training. I could work out and then go to a meeting right after and not have to worry about changing! Plus the clothes just look really cool.

What role does mental “fitness” play in your fitness routine?

Mental fitness is just as important as regular fitness in my routine. A lot of the moves that I work on could potentially injure me if I’m not careful, so it’s incredibly important for me to be focused and confident.

What do you do to stay creative? Does creativity make you an especially valuable athlete and brand ambassador?

To stay creative I’ll take any opportunity to try new things and learn from people that have mastered whatever it is I’m trying. I have a friend that’s very skilled in Krav Maga and he’ll teach me every once in awhile. It’s great to take on such a different style of movement than what I’m used to and it helps me learn how to defend myself. Also I do a lot of vlogs and small videos that I edit myself. I’m self-taught when it comes to that stuff, so challenging myself keeps me creative.